FASL apologize to a customer who slept outside overnight

The Management of the First Allied Savings and Loans Limited (FASL) has apologized to its female customer of the Adabraka branch who spent a night outside due to her inability to withdraw from the banking hall.

“We apologize because if we were able to settle her, she would not have reacted in that way”, Mr. Jones Owusu Yeboah of the Communications Department told PrimeNewsGhana on Sunday, August5, 2018.

PrimeNewsGhana on Friday, August 3, broke the news of 38-year-old Doris Agyemang who alleged that she slept overnight with just a piece of cloth on the floor at the banking hall in the process of not receiving her withdrawal.

The Savings and Loans has so far denied locking her up at the banking hall.

The Savings and Loan says it is also apologizing to its numerous customers across the country who have been affected by the current challenges it is facing.

The Savings and Loan had earlier in a statement signed by Jones Owusu Yeboah of the Communications Department admitted that “the said customer, Doris Agyemang came to our Adabraka branch to withdraw her savings”.

Mr. Owusu Yeboah said “we then took her to the conference room because her actions were disrupting other banking services and we stayed with her till 11 PM and some staff had to leave”.

“We left her in the care of the security officers at the bank and ensured she wasn't harmed in anyway but Doris Agyemang still didn't leave despite our pleas”.

Speaking in an interview with PrimeNewsGhana, Mr. Owusu Yeboah said “the fact is that, we are not challenging the customer but we are trying to bring the facts and with apologize because if we were able to settle her, she would not have reacted in that way”.

Read below the full statement:

FIRST ALLIED SAVINGS AND LOAN COMPANY LIMITED PRESS STATEMENT

CUSTOMER NOT LOCKED IN FIRST ALLIED SAVINGS AND LOAN (FASL) OVERNIGHT

ACCRA, 4TH AUGUST, 2018

On Thursday 2nd August 2018 an incident took place on the premises of one of the branch of First Allied Savings and Loans Ltd which has unfortunately given rise to stories circulating on social media that a customer of the bank had been locked in overnight on the bank’s premises.

A customer of the bank, had gone to one of our branches on that day to make a withdrawal. Unfortunately, as the amount she was seeking to withdraw was sizable, she was asked to return the next day.

The customer, however, refused to leave the premises despite all pleas. Finally in an effort to make her more comfortable and also to prevent disruption of the banks operations, she was taken to the Conference Room at the branch where she was kept company by some members of staff who continued to plead with her well into the night. Late into the night a complain was made to the Adabraka police. At around 11pm when staff needed to go home and the customer still refused to leave the premises after intervention by the four police officers presence, she was left in the company of two other staff members but with the understanding that she was free to leave whenever she wanted to as the door was not locked.

Management wishes to stress that at no point was the customer prevented from leaving the premises of the bank and in fact all efforts were made to try to persuade her to do so and to return the next day. Unfortunately, however, the customer, chose of her own free will to remain at the bank premises.

First Allied has in recent weeks been suffering from unusual levels of withdrawals by some of its customers owing to rumours circulating on Social media and some section of the general public that the bank is owned by Mr. Kwesi Nyantakyi and that action is going to be taken by the authorities which will affect its operations. These rumours are without basis and the result of confusing FaSL (First Allied Savings and Loans Limited) with FSL ( Fountain Savings and Loans Limited), the company alleged to be owned by Mr. Kwesi Nyantakyi. These withdrawals have unfortunately made it difficult for us to serve those customers wishing to make sizeable withdrawals with the immediacy that they are used to. We apologize for this and ask our customers to bear with us during these challenging times and to disregard these malicious rumours.

We wish to assure you, our cherished customers that First Allied Savings and Loans Limited is committed to serving you as we have been doing for the past 22 years.

Thank You.

For further information, please contact any of our branch Managers nationwide.